Category Archives: Local government

Local government, Recreation, Rivers, Water Quality

Go With the Flow: Paddle the St. Joseph River

Fort Wayne, IN – A recreational and educational canoe and kayak trip, Flow the St. Joe, from Spencerville to Leo-Cedarville will be held on Saturday, October 4. This is part of the on-going efforts of the St. Joseph River Watershed Initiative and Fort Wayne City Utilities to improve water quality in the St. Joseph River watershed through education and outreach.

The 4- to 5-hour trip begins between 10:30 and 11:30 at Riverside Gardens Park in Leo-Cedarville. Transportation, box lunch, water and educational materials are included in the registration fee of $15 per person or two people for $25. For those who want to rent a canoe or kayak, Fort Wayne Outfitters has a number of boats available on a first-come, first-served basis. Fees apply. Call the Outfitters directly to reserve (260-420-3962).

There are many points of interest in this section of the St. Joseph River, including Hurshtown Reservoir and Leo-Cedarville Reservoir that provide the City of Fort Wayne with water in the event of a drought. Participants will learn about the water quality testing by the SJRWI in this section of the river and observe land management practices that improve water quality. Information about historic, geological and natural views will be shared with event participants.

For those wishing to explore the St. Joseph River in the Bear Creek subwatershed, information about the Flow the St. Joe event and registration information is available on the St. Joseph River Watershed Initiative’s website, SJRWI.org. You can also call 260-484-5848, extension 3, or email Sharon Partridge-Domer, the Program Manager, at spd2655@gmail.com.

The St. Joseph River Watershed Initiative, a 501(c) 3non-profit organization, exists to protect, restore and enjoy the St. Joseph River and its watershed. The watershed stretches across almost 700,000 acres through eight counties in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. The St. Joseph River meets the St. Mary’s River in Fort Wayne, IN to form the Maumee River, which flows into Lake Erie. Since the inception of the SJRWI in 1996, the Initiative has met its goals and is emulated by other watershed projects throughout the country.

Fort Wayne City Utilities is the largest municipal provider of drinking water and sanitary sewer services in Indiana. City Utilities was a founding member of the St. Joseph River Watershed Initiative and continues as an active partner in the Initiative’s efforts to protect river water quality. For more information about Flow the St. Joe event, contact Martha Bishop Ferguson, co-chair of the event, at 260-704-5092. For more information about the St. Joseph River Watershed Initiative, contact Sharon Partridge-Domer, 260-484-5848, extension 3, or Dr. Robert Gillespie, Chair of the Board of Directors, at 260-481-6319.

 

Agriculture, Local government, Rivers, Water Quality

We’re all downstream.

The algal blooms around Toledo and the subsequent loss of safe water from the tap was an interesting wake-up call for many. As we wonder about the causes of this event, we must look in part to ourselves as contributors to the problem.

And of course, as we look at Fort Wayne, we should see that we are only part of our own problem. A lot of the water quality issues we face are the result of sewer overflows from other communities and agricultural runoff from fields and concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) up the St. Mary’s and St. Joseph Rivers. As we get our act together, we can more reasonably encourage the same from other communities and their members as well.

We are all downstream from environmental challenges. If we keep that in mind, maybe we can avoid the temptation to just let it be someone else’s problem.

Local government, Parks and Recreation, Recreation, Rivers, Urban ecology

Riverfront Development Public Meetings

The City of Fort Wayne will host the next round of public meetings with the City’s riverfront consultant, SWA Group, this Wednesday and Thursday. Both meetings will take place downtown at the main branch of the Allen County Public Library in the theater (downstairs!). The meetings are set for:

* Wednesday, July 23, 2014, 5:30-7:30 p.m. with a presentation at 5:45 p.m. and

* Thursday, July 24, 2014, 11 a.m. -1 p.m. with a presentation at 11:15 a.m.

Both meetings will cover the same information, so you only need to attend one. During the meetings, citizens will be asked to respond to SWA’s concepts for downtown riverfront development. Read more.